He Loved Rottweilers
by daphrose
Summary: Beck went out of his way to make her jealous, rejected her, and then used Tori as a pawn against her. He might not be an idiot, but he sure was a moron. He was such a mess without her. ("Jade Dumps Beck" from Beck's point of view)


**Me this week: "Okay, I want to write the missing scene from 'Jade Dumps Beck' where Beck rejects Jade. Cool. You know what, we can add some stuff at the end when they get back together. There's got to be build-up, though. It's okay, I'll skim through it. Except for this part. I feel like I could elaborate here. And I could expand on these scenes from the episode. It's okay, it won't be that long . . . never mind, it's over 6000 words."**

 **This story is about Beck's point of view during "Jade Dumps Beck." Nobody ever likes to give his POV on anything. :( I feel like I can get inside his head pretty well. This is not necessarily me justifying his actions, it's just me trying to figure out how** ** _he_** **would justify his actions. And what's going through his head, because I feel like there's so much there that we don't really see on the show.**

 **This story is rated T for mild swears and mild sexual implications. I don't own Victorious or their characters. As such, I do not own Alyssa Vaughn or either of Beck's parents, but I did expand on their characters in ways that are entirely my own. Any aspects of the plot that aren't derived from the episode are also mine. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **_— He Loved Rottweilers —_**

* * *

Beck was not an idiot, despite Jade's occasional snide remarks to the contrary. He knew they didn't really break up. Well, they did, but he knew it wouldn't last. This had been another fight that had escalated a little further, but Beck and Jade couldn't stay apart for that long. They would make up, and in the meantime, he was not afraid to push his luck.

They avoided each other for the rest of the afternoon at school. It wasn't hard. They had no classes together, and their lockers were on opposite sides of the hall. He saw her from a distance once or twice, but he figured it would be best to give her space. Besides, he didn't trust himself to hold in his snark. He knew he'd give her a hard time, and that would only make it worse.

When Beck got home, he opened his laptop and updated his Slap status to single. He found it funny, and, even better, he knew it would frustrate Jade. Sure enough, within five minutes she'd posted on his profile, "I can't believe you removed that you're in a relationship with me!" He allowed himself a good laugh before replying.

"Well, you broke up with me."

"Fine! Well, I'm removing mine, too."

That was the only conversation they had that night. Usually they spent time texting each other before bed, rambling about friends or teachers or events of the day. Jade normally initiated it with whatever she'd found most annoying in the last twenty-four hours, and Beck would respond with questions until she'd gotten the rants out of her system. Considering that _he_ was the source of her anger tonight, it didn't shock him that she never sent anything.

It was not until he'd fallen into bed and was on the edge of sleep that the first pangs of guilt entered his mind. Funny how the night always seemed good for those.

Okay, so maybe he could see Jade's point of view. Yes, Alyssa Vaughn was hot. (What? Beck was not allowed the recognize the attractiveness of the female form? It's not like these feelings were controllable.) But if Jade really thought that "hotness" was the only thing he cared about, then she didn't know him that well after all. Beck had zero desire to be with Alyssa. He didn't think he could even force himself into those feelings. She was a nice enough girl, but she did flaunt her money and expect things to be handed to her. It was tolerable for a time, but Beck honestly felt sorry for any boy who would try to date her. They would have a hard time living up to her expectations.

But even if Beck didn't like Alyssa in that way, he supposed that it wasn't ridiculous for Jade to feel threatened. The fact that he was too nice to rebuff another girl's advancements didn't help a thing. From Jade's point of view, it must've been infuriating to see him cozying up to a richer and arguably hotter girl. Her feelings were justified.

Beck just wished she would _listen_ to him. He'd flat-out told her a dozen times that he had no interest in Alyssa and never would, but she wouldn't acknowledge it. She kept repeating the same points and counting his texts from Alyssa. That fact that she didn't trust him hurt a lot. Did two years of dating mean nothing to her?

He fell asleep filled with guilt and anger and the exhausting mental work of rationalizing both of these competing emotions.

He woke up the next morning to a text from Alyssa.

 _Heeeeeeey beck do u wanna go2 lunch 2geter 2day? ill pay :):):) - Alyssa_

Hmm. A chance to hang out with his friend, get a free meal, and rub it all in Jade's face? Too much to pass up.

 _Sure. You wanna pick me up from school? - Beck_

 _Ya i can do that ill b there 11;30 in yellow lambo c u then! :):):) - Alyssa_

That sealed the deal for sure. He'd been dying for a chance to ride in Alyssa's Lamborghini. Sure, he wasn't one to take advantage of friends with benefits, but Alyssa was his friend, and she did have benefits. He would be a fool to pass them up.

 _Sweet. See you then. :) - Beck_

This would be perfect. He got out of bed and got ready. So maybe he did put a little bit of extra effort into his appearance, but that was more for Jade's sake. To make her even more jealous, because he knew he could. Because he wanted her back.

Holy crap, he was a mess without her.

Alyssa picked Beck up when she said she would, and they went to a little pizza place down the street from Hollywood Arts. She did try to flirt with him a few times, but he played oblivious and she eventually gave up. He didn't mention his break up with Jade. She didn't need to know, and he didn't want to feed a socialite gossip, even if it was about someone as culturally insignificant as him. They hung out as friends and learned more about each other. He discussed his passion for acting—he couldn't hold himself back even now—and she revealed a hidden love for scrapbooking. "But seriously, don't tell _anyone_ ," she said with a laugh. "I don't want people thinking I'm a grandma."

"My lips are sealed." He finished off the last of the garlic bread and grinned at her. This was nice. And it was nice to hang out without worrying about his girlfriend. At some point, his intentions to use this lunch as a method to make Jade jealous faded away. He found himself genuinely enjoying Alyssa's company, and he started to feel bad about using her as a pawn. So he banished Jade from his mind as much as he could and focused instead on making a friend. Other than Tori, he hadn't done that in a while.

Alyssa drove him back to school, and Beck enjoyed every single moment of sitting in the Lamborghini. They pulled up to the school all too soon.

"You are amazing, you know that?" Alyssa said, pushing her sunglasses up and smiling at him. He smiled back and took a sip of water. "I had great time. We should hang out more."

"Yeah, totally," he said.

"My dad could rent out a movie theater. You could invite all your friends, and we could get different movies on all the screens."

"Wait, you meant a _whole_ movie theater?"

"Perks of being rich, silly." She pushed his arm and flashed one of those bright smiles that could make millions of teenage boys across the country drool.

"Yeah, that sounds cool."

"Totally! Well, I should probably let you go. I'll text you about that theater party, though. I figure if we both invite two hundred people, that should be a decent size."

Beck raised his eyebrows. "I don't even think I know that many people."

Alyssa shook her head. "We'll work on that."

Beck said goodbye and got out of the car. He flashed a grin at Tori and Andre as he walked through the Asphalt Cafe, but he didn't stop to talk. He needed to get a few things out of his locker before his next class. He didn't see Jade anywhere, a fact for which he was grateful. Their time apart—which was about to reach twenty-four hours—had been cathartic for him, he realized. Painful, sure, but cathartic nonetheless. Spending the last hour with Alyssa Vaughn and without Jade had helped him realize how much of himself he'd wrapped up in her. And he still loved her, and he still wanted to get back together with her, but taking the step back and seriously evaluating their relationship had left him feeling better than he had in a long time.

But they were Beck and Jade, and they couldn't stay apart forever. That was exactly the reason he wasn't surprised when she showed up at his locker at the end of the school day.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she said. She avoided eye contact, which meant she felt uncomfortable. "You wanna go see a movie or something?"

Ah. That was how she was going to handle this. She felt embarrassed that they'd broken up, and she missed him, so she'd play it off like it had never happened in the first place. He wasn't about to let it slide so easily.

Beck stood and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Nah. I've got a lot of homework to do today."

Jade pursed her lips. Now her eyes met his, but she was full-on glaring. He didn't even flinch. "Fine. You wanna be that way, then fine. We're both being stupid, I guess."

"Both?"

"I forgive you for hanging out with Alyssa Vaughn. And . . . and I'm sorry, and junk. Now take me to a movie." She stepped closer, but he stepped back.

"'I'm sorry and junk'? That's how you apologize?"

"That's how I've always apologized."

He narrowed his eyes. So did she.

Jade had absolutely not forgiven Beck. He could tell that by her glare and her stiff posture. Nor was she really sorry. Oh, she was capable of regret, sure—a fact she'd always deny, but Beck knew better. Currently, however, she was not experiencing an iota of regret or anything similar. Truth be told, neither was Beck. Neither of them were willing to cave and admit that maybe the other had made good points. The only reason that she was standing here was the same reason he was staying: they loved each other immensely. But their love couldn't cover up the words that had been said or the thoughts that had passed through each of their minds over the last few days. So as much as it hurt, he spelled it out in plain words for both of them. In fact, he used her own words so that it would sting more.

"I don't have to take you to a movie. You're not my girlfriend anymore."

If he was anyone else, he would have died on the spot. As it was, Jade focused her best glare on him. "Look," she said, her voice sharp and loud, though not loud enough to attract the attention of those around them. "This is dumb. Okay? This whole thing is dumb. So let's just get back together and act like it never happened."

"No."

"No?"

If she'd been a better listener, then maybe she would've heard every single screeching thought in his head telling him that he was a moron. "No," he said again. "I don't think we should get back together, Jade." _Soon. Someday soon. Just not yet. We're not there yet._ "Maybe this was all for the best."

Her face was going red now. "Yeah?" she screamed. "Well, I wouldn't wanna date a jerk like you anyway!" (To be frank, he was surprised that she limited her word choice to something as innocent as "jerk.")

Beck could tell by the tone of her voice that Jade was hysterical. Not mad, hysterical. He hurt her really, really badly, and that thought cut through him like a pair of her best scissors. But he's right. He knows he's right. He knows that getting back together at this moment would only leave their problems unresolved, and those unresolved problems would fester until they blew up into a conflict dangerous enough to break them up permanently.

"Fine," he said, softly, gently, hoping somehow to make the blow less painful.

"Fine!" she spat. She stormed past him, shoving him roughly with her shoulder. He stumbled back and put a hand on the lockers behind him to keep from falling over. After he regained his balance, he purposefully slammed his fist into the locker above his and scowled.

So . . . Beck just let the most important thing in his life walk away. Again.

Most people didn't understand why or how he loved Jade, but he did. She brought a much needed balance to his personality. She grounded his independence by fighting it with her own. It might sound cheesy, but she was genuinely his first love. He was not the kind of guy to get "crushes," and while he'd always craved for something deeper, he hadn't found it until Jade.

But he needed her to trust him. He needed to know that she felt the same way. He needed her to _not_ be a gank, just for a moment. They couldn't get back together, not just yet. They needed to learn their lessons. They needed a break from each other to remember why they loved each other in the first place. They needed this. That was the mantra Beck repeated in his head to keep him from running after Jade and apologizing.

Beck walked out of school to his car. He bit his lip the whole way, because the physical pain distracted him from the emotional pain.

Ugh. He really was a mess without her.

He got home and went straight to his RV to work on homework. He hadn't been lying to Jade. Sikowitz wanted him to memorize three scenes, Mr. Rhodes assigned a book report on _The Scarlet Letter_ , and Mrs. Payton had given him two pages of algebra problems—though he was tempted to burn those instead of working on them. On top of that, he had to practice for an audition for the new play he wanted to be a part of. It was one of the smaller plays the school was putting on, but he liked the story and thought he could pull off the role of "supportive best friend" rather well. He changed into a comfier shirt, ruffled up his hair, and fell into bed to get started on all his work.

After his dinner break later in the evening, his parents' housecleaner, Consuela, came in to clean his RV. Beck had learned to ignore her by now, and she had learned not to interrupt him when he had his head buried in . . . well, anything.

Just as Consuela was finishing up, the RV's doorbell rang. Beck jerked his head up. Was that Jade? Hardly anyone else ever came to his place. He didn't know how to respond, but luckily, Consuela did that for him. "Who is it?" she called out as she gathered up the last of her things.

"I know that's you, Beck!"

Beck grinned. Tori. Okay. He's fine with that. There was a bit of a drop in his stomach when he realized that it was not Jade, but there was mostly relief. He shut his laptop and got up as Consuela opened the door. He thanked her as she left and leaned on the door, smirking at Tori. "Enter," he said, gesturing inside. He always loved a good chance to show off his place.

Thus ensued a brief conversation about his RV. There always was one. Everyone needed an explanation as to why he lived there by himself. Shortest answer: he's ridiculously independent. But of course he gave Tori the cooler explanation.

That conversation came to an end. "So," Beck said, trying to tease out the reason for her visit.

"So, you're probably wondering why I'm here. Like, 'Hey, Tori's here, what up with that?'" she said, deepening her voice for the last few words.

Beck squinted. "That's how I talk?"

"No, that's just my generic boy voice."

"Ah. I like it. Do more." He flopped down on the couch, ready to be entertained. Tori might be new to the world of acting, but from what he'd seen, she wasn't half bad at it.

"Okay. Um, 'Hey man, why don't you get back together with Jade? You know what I'm sayin'? Yeah.'"

There's the other shoe. He allowed the wave of disappointment to wash over him before he sat up and said, "I should get back together with Jade?"

"Uh huh," Tori said. She nodded gently, her eyes wide and pleading.

"Why?" It's the simplest question he could ask, but he knew that Tori was incapable of answering it properly. He was right.

"Cause . . . she's . . . you know . . . awesome?"

Beck was wondering how exactly Jade managed to put Tori up to this. He may have been a moron for letting Jade go, but he still wasn't an idiot. He knew Jade was the one pulling the strings. Tori wouldn't do this without any sort of prompting. He was tempted to ask her to blink twice if she was in any danger, but he decided to take a different angle. If Jade was going to use Tori as a patsy, he was going to use her as a messenger.

"Guess what?" he said as he stood.

"What?" Tori sounded scared, and she probably should be. Beck was not going to tell her what she—pardon him, what Jade wanted to hear.

"I'm glad Jade and I broke up." Nope, not a lie, for all the same reasons that had been running through his head over and over for the last two days.

"Why?"

"Because I can't remember the last time she did one nice thing for me."

Jade never listened. She never trusted him. She never took him at his word. She tried to force him back into a relationship when he wasn't ready for it. She snapped and sneered and screamed at him. Love may cover a multitude of sins, but in their case, it didn't cover all of them. Beck needed her to know that, and he knew that Tori would be reporting back to her soon. He needed Jade to know that he was upset, because there was another thing she did: ignore his feelings.

"Oh, come on, didn't you just have a birthday? She didn't get you anything for your birthday?"

Jade hated buying people presents for their birthdays. She hated birthdays. She hated celebrations in general, but birthdays held a special place of hate in her dark heart. Beck had learned that years ago, but that didn't mean he wished he could be an exception to the rule.

Beck took a few steps forward. "She got me a can of lemonade."

Tori stared at him for a few moments, unsure of what to say. "Well, that's . . . um . . ." She scratched the back of her head. "Okay, that's, like, the worst birthday present ever."

"Uh-huh." So, he did like lemonade. A lot. So maybe it was sweet that Jade cared enough to get him something he would enjoy. Maybe. But her "sweetness" had only cost her two bucks, and to top it all off, she'd made a big stink about giving it to him, as if giving him a present was a great burden to her.

"A _can_?" Tori said after a few more moments.

"Yup. I think she got it out of a vending machine at school."

"Well, okay, but Jade's still—"

"Look, Tori, I appreciate you coming here and all, but it's not going to work. You're not going to convince me to get back together with Jade. That's that."

Tori sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure." He shrugged. "Thanks anyway."

"Yeah. Well, then, I guess I should be going. It was great to see your place, and all."

They walked over to the RV door together. Tori didn't look happy, and Beck knew that she was dreading to give her report of failure to Jade. He felt bad for her, honestly. She'd already posted on the Slap a handful of times about her frustration about being stuck in the middle of Beck and Jade's fight. They'd both been using her a go-between, and it was unfair to her.

"Hey," Beck said as she went out the door, "thanks. Really. You're a good friend." A good friend to him, sure, but more importantly, Tori was being a good friend to Jade—well, assuming Jade wasn't holding one of her family members hostage to make Tori agree to her terms. But seriously, Jade needed more people like Tori in her life, and Beck was happy to see both of them making an effort.

Tori gave a tight-lipped grin. "You're welcome. See you tomorrow."

"See ya."

Beck had to spend a second night mulling over his guilty and angry thoughts, and there were even more of them tonight. It got so bad that it crept into his dreams. They were not special dreams, really. It was only him and Jade going about their day, doing regular things, kissing, being in love. But they were painful enough to his waking self that he remembered them. He woke up a few times, and there was one odd moment at 3:17 when he actually began to compose a text to her. He fell back asleep with his phone in his hand, and when he woke up the next morning, he saw incoherent babble that luckily never got sent. He promptly deleted the whole thing and shook himself off.

The morning was a bit easier, because it's not nearly as hard to shove away all your negative emotions when you're surrounded by sunlight and friends and the ever-present stress and distraction of school. Beck ignored Jade, and she ignored him. No one brought up their break-up to them. Jade seemed to stand awfully close to Tori a few times, and Beck, once again, became scared for her safety.

He got through the day, somehow. It was mostly a blur. Alyssa texted him a few times, but it was never anything interesting. He was back in his RV again before he knew it, and he thought he was starting to reach the breaking point with this whole break-up thing. Maybe he's being too ridiculous. Maybe he should've just fixed things with Jade the day before when she'd come to him. Maybe he should've told Tori that yes, yes, a thousand times yes, he would go back to Jade.

Someone knocked on the door to his RV. "It's open!" he hollered, and once again, he found himself hoping it was Jade.

It wasn't.

"Hey, Beck," his dad said as he entered the RV.

"Hey, Dad. What do you need?"

"Sleep," his dad grumbled. "Your mom's vacuuming and I'm _exhausted_."

"Long day at work?"

"Uh-huh."

"You wanna hang out in here?"

"Uh-huh."

Beck grinned. If he had a disinclination to verbosity, his dad was even worse. But they understood each other, and that was all that mattered. Beck stood and picked up his laptop.

"Oh, you don't have to . . ."

"No, it's fine. Get some rest."

His dad half-heartedly smiled. "Thanks."

Beck took his laptop inside and sat down at the kitchen table. His mom was currently in the living room, the fifteen-year-old vacuum howling as she pushed it around in front of her. Beck realized quickly that no, he would not be able to focus on homework while that was going on, so he resorted to scrolling through new posts on The Slap. He avoided Jade's page, though. After two and a half days, all the regret and pain had reached their culmination. He wanted her back, and he was reaching the point of abandoning his principles and his pride just so he could hold her again. Screw learning their lessons. They were Beck and Jade. She would always be jealous and rude, and he would always be oblivious and exasperated. Why did he think that would ever change?

His mom turned off the vacuum and sighed. "Hey, baby. Your dad kicked you out of the RV?"

"Yeah."

She walked up and gave him a quick hug from behind. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'll just go kick him out when I'm ready for bed."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about."

"I'm fine. Jade can't stay away from me forever."

"Arrogance only hurts your chances, honey."

"I know."

"And if you don't get back together, then you can move on to a girl who's . . . you know . . . not as . . ."

Beck turned around and raised his eyebrows. His mom smiled and shrugged.

"It's your life," she said. "You know my opinions." She patted his shoulder and then walked away. "Hey, I need to head out to the store real quick. We ran out of trash bags this afternoon. Do you need anything urgently?"

"No, I don't think so."

"All right. I'll be back in about twenty minutes."

"M'kay. Love you."

"Love you too."

She swept up her purse and headed out the front door. Beck settled into the peaceful silence of no vacuum cleaner and went back to his homework.

After a minute, though, Beck began to hear something else. It sounded almost like . . . shouting? It came from out back. He frowned and walked out the back door to a rather odd sight. Tori and Jade were slamming on the side of his RV, which was rocking violently, and screeching at the top of their lungs.

"What is going on?" Beck shouted as he walked up.

Tori turned and shrieked.

"Beck!" Jade shouted.

Tori looked between him and the RV. "How can you be out here?"

"You're in there being mauled by a dog!" Jade said.

"Dog? My dad's in there!"

Then Beck joined the violent scene, pounding on the RV and yelling for his dad. He had a multitude of questions for the girls, the primary one being, of course, _What the hell were they up to?_ but he shoved those out of his mind for the moment. His dad's life was a little more important right now.

Beck's first thought was to open the door, but he was greeted by the bared teeth and angry eyes of an enormous dog. He threw the door shut again, jumped back, and shouted, "Whoa, that is a big dog!"

It was a Rottweiler. He figured that out even from his brief glance at it. He loved Rottweilers. But he couldn't love Rottweilers, because his dad was currently being attacked by a Rottweiler.

He ran up to the windows, still calling out and only adding to the din. His dad threw his hands up against the window, and that only caused the teenagers to scream more.

"Wait, wait!" Beck shouted louder. Tori and Jade both looked at him, and he motioned for them to be quiet. He could still hear his dad screaming in the RV, but he thought he could find a way to manage the situation. "Dad! Dad, can you hear me?"

"Get me out of here!" his dad yelled, and although it was not a confirmation, Beck continued.

"Dad, get over to the door! I'm going to try to trap the dog in there!"

Once again, there's no real confirmation, but the silhouette of Beck's father moved closer to the door. Beck waited until it got extremely close and then threw the door open once more. His dad came tumbling out, but the dog was right on his heels. Beck reacted quickly and slammed the door in the dog's face. It let out an angry yelp, and then it began to snarl and bark again. At least this time there was a heavy sheet of metal between the dog and any humans. Beck's dad fell onto his back, groaning and covering his face with one arm. Beck knelt down beside him.

"Are you okay?"

"Ow," was all his dad said in reply.

"Someone should call an ambulance," Beck said.

"On it," Jade muttered as she pulled out her phone. To be quite frank, he had hoped Tori would be the one to perform that duty, but he was not really in a position to argue right now.

From a quick once-over, Beck thought his dad would be all right. He had several scratches, of course, including many on his face, but none of them looked deep enough to be of serious or life-threatening concern.

Beck pulled his own phone out of his pocket and searched up the number for animal control. His dad was still of primary concern, yes, but he also still had a vicious animal trapped in his RV.

The next few minutes would be forgotten soon after, because the four people standing—or lying—in that driveway were not humans, but rather tense masses of adrenaline. Beck and Jade called the appropriate services, and somehow Tori managed to soothe Mr. Oliver. That was all they could do. Beck wasn't in a position yet where he could ask questions, so he mostly just stood there stone-faced until the ambulance pulled up with the animal control truck right behind it. Two different groups of people had to deal with two different, confused creatures, but both did their jobs well. Animal control got the dog into a crate and took him away as the paramedics hoisted Mr. Oliver onto a gurney after they bandaged the worst of his wounds.

The three teenagers had stepped back to give them some space. Jade was pacing around by his back door, and Beck stood his hands in his pockets and a vacant stare in the direction of all the action. Tori stood beside him. She seemed to want to say something, but it took several attempts before she actually did.

"So, this turned out really, really bad," Tori said. "But I swear we weren't trying to hurt anyone. Jade was trying to do something nice for you, but . . . I'm starting to think there's a reason she doesn't do nice things. I'm so, so sorry, Beck."

Beck didn't respond, and she must've taken that to mean he was angry, because she walked away. He wasn't angry, though. At least, not yet. He was mostly numb.

A Rottweiler. That dog had been a Rottweiler. He loved Rottweilers.

Beck was still trying to process it all, but he walked up as they got ready to load his dad into the ambulance and take him to the hospital. Beck told him he'd meet him there. Jade and Tori apologized, but it didn't seem to accomplish much. Beck ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath to clear his mind.

"He'll be fine," one of the paramedics reassured him after she closed the back of the ambulance.

"Thanks," he said.

"Hey," she said, walking closer and gently touching his shoulder, "are you in college yet?"

Jade grabbed his arm and loudly said, "Bye!"

Jade . . . grabbed his arm . . . like she was possessive of him . . . like he was still hers . . . like they were still together . . . and he really, really liked it . . . but he can't . . . he shouldn't . . . because she just tried to maul his dad via violent dog . . . and he should be angry . . . why wasn't he angry?

After the ambulance drove off, Beck broke away from her grip and walked back toward his RV. It was all starting to fall into place in his mind now. Tori and Jade had put that dog in there. They thought he was in there. Clearly neither of them had intended to maul _him_ —well, at least Tori hadn't. If Jade was still angry, perhaps it could be a plan for revenge. But no, no, even she wouldn't go that far, and she'd been remorseful this entire time. No, Jade had put a Rottweiler in his RV because he loved Rottweilers. Because he'd told her that he loved Rottweilers. Because she'd listened to him when he'd mentioned that unrealistic dream of owning a Rottweiler. Because she'd listened to him, because she loved him.

Whoa.

"Tori told me to get you a dog!" Jade said after a few seconds.

"Dude!" Tori protested.

Beck turned to look at Jade. _Now_ she had regret written all over her face. Now she looked truly sorry, and truly scared, and truly . . . beautiful. Seriously, why was he such a mess without her?

"Okay, it was kind of my idea, but I-I didn't think the dog would bug out like that," Jade said, her voice wavering and every gesture betraying her still-shaky nerves. "I-I just wanted you to have a dog because I know you've talked about getting one ever since I met you and I thought that maybe—"

Beck kissed Jade. He couldn't stop himself even if he wanted to. He couldn't let her finish. He'd been gone from her for too long. He kissed her.

A Rottweiler. She'd gotten him a Rottweiler, because he loved Rottweilers. Okay, he could stop repeating that in his head every five minutes now. Jade had done a genuinely nice thing for him. A nice thing that took time and effort and knowledge of who he was and the things he wanted most in his life. Sure, it had backfired on her, but if there was ever an it's-the-thought-that-counts moment, it was this one right here. Because Jade's thoughts were never this nice. Because Jade really did care about him, and listen to him, and trust him. He knew that now, and he was kicking himself for not knowing it before.

"You love me again," Jade said as he pulled away. She had that look on her face—that look of innocence, of vulnerability, that look that almost no one besides him had ever seen. Her eyes were both pleading and hopeful, and oh, gosh, how could he have ever allowed himself to hurt her? How could he ever let her think that he had ceased loving her for a single moment?

"Who said I stopped?" he said. And yes, maybe anyone else would call him cheesy, but he didn't care, because those people had never felt what he was feeling. His words were true, and he wouldn't take them back.

"Aww!" Tori said from behind Jade. They both looked back at her, and she said, "I ruined the moment." She kind of did, but Beck was mostly amused. If they were in a sitcom, the "aww" soundtrack would've surely been playing the background right around now.

"It's cool," Jade said, "and I really do owe you."

Aw. Two of the most important girls in Beck's life were finally getting along. But, like it or not, one of those girls was more important than the other, and that was the one he focused on as she turned to kiss him again.

The kiss deepened with every passing second, and Beck grabbed Jade's arms to keep himself from falling over onto her. Then he grasped her head, pulling her closer still. It felt so _good_ to get lost in her again. Gosh, he was such a mess without her.

"Hey!" Tori said as she walked up behind Jade. "Um, it's getting kinda late, so I was wondering if maybe you could drive me home?"

"It's not that far a walk," Jade snapped, but she had to break from Beck to say it, and he was disoriented for a second. It didn't last long, though, because she turned her head back and kissed him again. There she was. His mean little girlfriend. Girlfriend. His girlfriend. She was his again.

"Try not to swallow each other!" Tori called to them a few seconds later, and Beck started to think that that may be good advice. His hand travelled down Jade's back, and that satisfying jolt of passion coursed through him.

They continued to make out for a few more minutes, but they had to stop for breath at some point. Beck grabbed the front of Jade's shirt, and she clasped onto his wrists.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her. "I'm so, so, sorry. Jade, I'm really sorry."

She laughed—a gentle laugh, a laugh he really liked. "Stop being so Canadian."

"Hey now . . ."

She stopped his protest with another kiss. "So . . . you'll take me back?"

"Only if you'll take me back too." This had to be a mutual thing. Their relationship only worked because of push-and-pull, give-and-take. They both had to be willing to accept each other again.

"Well, you did hang out with Alyssa Vaughn instead of me."

"And you put my dad in the hospital. I think we're even."

"Touché." Jade's face fell. "Your dad . . ."

"Oh, yeah, I should probably get going."

"Wait." She tightened her grip on him even though he had made no move to leave. "Beck, I am sorry. I'm sorry for breaking up with you, and I'm sorry for trying to force us back together when we weren't ready, and I'm sorry for mauling your dad, and I'm sorry for getting you that stupid can of lemonade."

Beck couldn't control his smile. That was all he had ever wanted to hear. "Hey, it was good lemonade."

"I knew you liked it."

He kissed her on the forehead. "Of course I did. And I'm sorry for trying to make you jealous, and I'm sorry for not listening to your point of view, and I'm sorry for rejecting you."

"I forgive you," she said. "This feels good. Just . . . apologizing, and forgiving. I actually kinda like it."

"Me too."

"Just with you, though. Occasionally. This isn't going to be a regular thing."

"Of course not."

"So . . . we're cool?"

"We're very cool."

"Yay."

She gave him that look again. She looked so small and so fragile and so adorable and so . . . so _his._ She leaned into his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. It was so right.

Yeah, they weren't perfect. They would fight and argue and butt heads, but that was them, and that was okay. Yes, Jade would forever be jealous and angry and demanding and needy, but that was okay. Yes, Beck would forever be vengeful and controlling and oblivious and moronic, but that was okay. They worked, somehow, for no other reason than that they did, and people should stop prying before Jade pried out their eyes with scissors.

"I really need to get to the hospital," Beck said.

"Yeah."

"Come with me?"

"Absolutely not."

Beck stayed silent for a moment. He ran his fingers through Jade's hair and whispered, "Wait for me?"

"Here?"

"Sure."

"Your RV must be a mess."

"I'm sure."

"I'm not cleaning it up."

"Wouldn't expect you to."

"Oh, what, you think I'm not capable of doing a good job cleaning?"

"If I say yes then will you do it?"

"You're too slick, Oliver."

"Don't I know it."

"I'll make it even more of a mess."

"I'm not sure that's possible."

"There's a challenge I'm willing to take up."

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Kiss me?"

"As soon as I get back."

"Fine, I guess I can wait."

"Is it bad to say that I'm glad we broke up?"

"I would say yes, except I feel the same way."

"The last few days were hell."

"Hell is nice. The last few days were decidedly not nice."

"But I think that maybe it'll be better now."

"Maybe. As long as you don't go on any more dates with snooty socialites."

"I'm so glad to have you back."

"Me too."

"I think I love you even more now."

"Yeah? So you didn't love me to your full capacity before?"

"No, the capacity of my love for you just increased."

"Stop trying to sound so sage. You don't sound cool."

"No?"

"No."

"You could say it, you know."

"Say what?"

"That you love me."

"Do I have to?"

"Only if you want to keep dating me."

"Oh, please."

"Come on, just say it."

"Fine. I love you."

"I know."

"Did you just pull a Han Solo on me?"

"Maybe."

"Nerd."

"Right, because you totally didn't pick up on that reference instantly."

"Don't start pulling out the sarcasm. That's my thing."

"It's one of my favorite things about you."

"Your turn. Say you love me."

"Magic word."

"I've got four: I'll dump you again."

"Love you, babe."

Beck grabbed her and pulled her in for one last kiss before stepping back. He glanced over at his RV and pulled his keys out his pocket. Time to go to the hospital to meet his dad. His dad, the man who hadn't approved of Jade even before she caused him to be wildly attacked by a savage animal. This would be a fun adventure. "I love you, but I don't think I love Rottweilers anymore."

* * *

 **That little exchange at the end there is one of my favorite bits of dialogue I've ever written.**

 **Sorry for the lack of updates on my other stories. Real life is whooping my behind, and my brain is really not working right. Don't ask me why. I don't know why. I wish I knew why. For that reason, I also apologize for any grammar mistakes that my completely messed-up brain missed. Hope this story was still understandable. My brain won't tell me if it is or not.**

 **Reviews are appreciated but not required. Follow me for more Bade stories in the future. (Hopefully I'll be able to write a whole lot more a month from now. Got some stuff to deal with first.) Thanks so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Bye!**

 **~ Rosie**


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